Delayed cut-off arrangement for mantle gas lamps



R. 0. SMITH.

DELAYED CUT-OFF ARRANGEMENT FOR MANTLE GAS LAMPS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJ, 1916- RENEWED SEPT-30. 1921.

1,415,063, Patented May 9, 1922.

rnras it A RAYMOND ID. SMITH,

or Bosron, rrnssncnnsnrrs, ASSIGNOB T0 SHAWMUT MACHINE WORKS, INC., ACORPORATION OF IVIAINE.

1,415,4lfi3.

Application filed August '7, 1916, Serial No. 113,547.

1 0 0Z6 whom it may concern:

B it known that I, RAYMOND D. SMITH, a citizen of the United Fitates,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of hlassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DelayedCut- Ofl Arrangements for Mantle Gas Lamps, of which the following is aspecification.

My present invention relates to details of construction and arrangementthat have been found advantageous in applying an improved form ofthermostatic valve control to a mantle gas lamp structure, specificallyof a well known commercial type wherein the lighting unit thereofcomprises a fixedlyassembled cage structure that includes an uprightmica chimney permanently secured to a metallic base and carrying acrossits top a wire or other means of support for an illuminating mantlecentrally suspended there- Such type of gas lamp structure, which in oneof its commercial forms is known in this country as the l/VelsbachJunior Light, is characterized by comparatively diminutive size andcommonly employs an outer lightdii fusin globe that to well serve itsdesigned purpose is spherical in form, and small, yet considerablylarger than the above described illuminating unit. which it surroundsand that, therefore, extends considerably below the base of such unitthereat to be supported upon a suitable holding bracket.

The form of thermostatic valve control which I apply to such type of gaslamp, however, embodies the provision of a small, auxiliaryBunsen-burner preferably positioned laterally of the stem of the mantleburner and preferably just below the mantlecontaining illuminating unit,which auxiliary nirner is thus of necessity brought into juxtapositionto the above described c011- ventional outer globe if the desirablecompactness characterizing the type of lamp concerned is to be retained.

The principal object of this invention is to incorporate invselfcontained form with a mantle gas lamp of the type above described,including the fuel control valve therefor, an apparatus embodyingmechanism for effecting direct hand actuation of the valve as usual andalso including thermostatically controlled devices for effecting anautomatically delayed extinguishment of the illumi- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1922. Renewed September 30, 1921. Serial No. 504,493.

nating burner upon manipulation of the control means such as customarilyturns out the gas. Apparatus of this kind is shown, as applied to adifferent form of burner, in m copending application, Serial No.111,934, the auxiliary burner herein employed for heating the thermostatbeing automatically ignitible, as in the above mentioned application,from the heat of the mantle burner.

In accomplishing this object, I have de vised a simple and effectiveexpedient to care for certain new conditions and problems arising in theapplication of this form of thermostatic valve control to the type ofburner hereinbefore described; such expedient, however, being useful inother connections than in the precise application thereof made in thisdisclosure. The expedient referred to consists in the provision of ashield for the flame of the auxiliary burner arranged, at once, toinsure the automatic ignition of the latter, to protect the hereinbeforementioned closely adjacent outer globe from the heat of such burner, andto shield the. flame thereof from outside drafts or other disturbanceafter the burner has been ignited.

Other details and specific objects of my invention will appear from thedrawings, descriptionv and claim hereof.

In the drawings :Fig. 1 is a plan View of the burner structure taken insection on the horizontal plane 1-1 in Fig. 4, the outer shade beingomitted; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the valve mechanism and certainauxiliary burner parts, the mechanical parts being shown in theirpositions after manual operation of the extinguishing means and beforeautomatic closure of the valve or while the thermostat is being heated;Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the position of parts afterautomatic closure of the valve; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation partly insection of the entire burner and valve structure including the outershade; Fig. 5 is an e11- larged partial section taken on the plane 44 inFig. 8, showing the arrangement of valve ports and their relativepositions dure-ing normal operation of the main illuminating burner;Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 4, showing a different relation ofports; Fig. 7 shows the relation of ports when the light has beenextinguished; Flg. 8 1s a plan view of the valve, and actuatingmechanism therefor, with casing and thermostat broken away; Fig. 9 is anelevation looking at the right of Fig. l the outer shade being omittedand the shade holder shown in section.

Similar and corresponding parts are indicated throughout the drawingsand designated in the following description by the same numerals.

Referring to Fig. 7, particularly, the illuminating mantle appears at land is of the conventional type suspended by its top from a wire support2, diametrically bridging the open top of a self-contained chimney andsupporting bracket structure 3, which has transparent mica walls withthe usual openings a therein and which is substantially closed at thebottom with the exception of the necessary fuel opening beneath themantle, and one other opening to be referred to hereinafter.

This self-contained mantle and chimney structure 3 is adapted to bemounted on the open and enlarged upper portion of the upright, combinedsupporting stem and mixing chamber 5 for the gas and air of the mainBunsen burner. At the bottom of the mixing chamber 5, is shown the usualgas injector and. air intake construction, wherein adjustment of the gassupply may be had by means of the knurled needle-valve screwcap 6, whichlatter has a central tapered orilice for the gas adapted to seat overthe upwardly and conically pointed, stationary projection T, and whereinair is admitted through the openings 8 in the wall of the mixingchamber, such openings being partially covered by the circular hood 9,this type of Bunsen gas burner construction being well known in the art.

The combined supporting stem and mixing chamber 5 terminates below theBunsen gas injector construction in an internally threaded portion 11and is mounted at this portion upon a valve block 12, which latter atits bottom, has an internally threaded portion 14 by means of which theentire structure may be mounted upon the usual gas bracket orchandelier.

Clamped between the stem 5 and the valve block 12 is the base of a threearmed bracket or shade holder 13. A spring clamp wire 17 holds the shade1.6 firmly seated on the bracket 13.

The valve block 12 contains the usual tapered valve plug whose axis liestransverse of the vertical main gas passage 18 through said block, andwhich, when rotaively actuated by mechanism to be described hereinafter,controls the supply of gas to both the main burner stem 5 and to a smallauxiliary heater burner 21 extending upwardly froi'u a bracket extension22, of the valve block.

it should be carefully noted that the upper orifice of the auxiliaryheater burner 21 is at a substantially higher level than the open,bottom portion of the air intake opening hood 9, and that sad hoodeffectively separates the air intake openings from the burner 21.

Were such openings not thus shielded from the flame of the auxiliaryburner, the latter would ignite the gas at its point of injection intothe main burner mixing chamber and thereby impair the operation of themain illuminating burner.

l have provided and mounted only for convenience on. the top, or mouth,of burner 21 the curved flame shield 40. The phenomena of back-firinggas ignition, i. e.-the igniting of a relatively low-positioned burnerby means of conducting the gas issuing therefrom to a relatively highlypositioned source of heat-is governed by certain well definedprinciples. it is hereinafter explained that the burner 2i is adapted tobe supplied with gas only at certain times and at such times to beautomatically ignited by the rising of such gas to the heat of theilluminating mantle l. llt is, therefore, such back-firing principle ofignition that is depended upon in the working of the present device.Experience shows, however, that a too closely confining conduit forleading the unburned gas to its source of ignition excludes the presenceof air and, therefore, of oxygen and defeats the reliable ignitiondesired. Also one cannot depend on gas rising di rectly vertically, whenentirely undirected, because drafts and air currents tend to waft theaway from its true vertical course. The solution, therefore, must be acompromise, or partially encompassing gas directive-n'ieans, and suchconstitutes the simple form of flame shield 4.0. This shield whilepartially constraining the rising gas to its vertical path allows itfree intercourse with the atmosphere and while thus acting to insure thereliable ignition of the auxiliary burner, also protects the outer shadeor globe 16, which latter, if retained in its conventional and desirableform and position, must fall closely adjacent to the flame of the aux-:iliary burner, as before explained. Adjustment of the supply of to theburner 21 may be had by the screw 23.

in the other extension 24 of the valve block 12, an upwardly slantinggas port 27 is shown leading from the main gas passage, below the valveplug 15, to the base of a small upright tube 25. This tube enters theenlarged upper portion of the main burner chamber and its top orificelies centrally within the lower portion of the mantle.

supply to this tube may be controlled by the adjusting screw lVhenignited it will be evident that the small flame 29 at the top of thetube, commonly called a pilot light, will remain constantly burninginclependent of the valve plug 15 and that this flame is so situated asto ignite the main mantle burner whenever gas is supplied to the latter.

Referring particularlyto Figs. 2, 3 and 8, I shall now describe themechanism by which the movement of the valve plug is controlled. Manualcontrol of the mechanism is afforded by the chains 65 and 68. A downwardpull on chain 68 in Fig. 3 first swings the spring actuated latch lever66 to the broken line position, thus disengaging it from the lockingprojection 78 of the supporting plate 31, which plate is fixed to thevalve block 12. Thelatch lever 66 is pivoted to one end of thedouble-ended control lever 35, which latter is loosely and pivotallymounted on a stem extension of the valve plug 15 and which carries atits opposite end the chain 65. Further pull on the chain 68 willtherefore swing the control lever to its position indicated by brokenlines in Fig. 3, where it will be stopped by engagement with anotherprojection 54 of the supporting plate 31. During this movement, thevalve plug has been positively rotated a corresponding amount byengagement of the control lever 35 with a rearwarclly bent extension 37of the dog member 36 the latter being fast to the end of the valve stem30 and normally maintained in such engagement with the control lever 3538; one end of which is hooked under the edge of control lever 35 andthe other end of which is hooked over the extension 37.

Control chain may now be pulled clownwardly which will swing the controllever 35 in the reverse direction until the spring latch lever 66automatically locks it in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. But fromFig. 2 it will be seen that during this latter movement, the dog member36 has been intercepted in an intermediate position and that it is heldin this position against the tension of spring 38 by a spur shapedprojection 52 carried fast to the inner surface of the curved,bi-metallic thermostat 53.

The thermostat 53 is mounted at one end to the projection 54 of thesupporting plate 31 and is clamped thereto in contact with the base ofan upwardly extending, heater member 56, by screws 55, 55. The heatermember 56 terminates in a hooded portion 57 that is perforated at itstop and is positioned directly over the auxiliary burner 21. This hoodedterminal of the heater member lies directly beneath an opening 41 in thebase of the main burner chimney structure said opening having downwardlyflanged edges to better collect the gas arising from the auxiliaryburner 21 and through the opening in the top of the heater hood. Suchgas upon rising and entering the mantle chamber ignites from the heat ofthe main mantle burner and flares back through said opening subsequentlyburning with a hot, blue, concentrated flame at the top of the auxby aspring when passing the spur 52 by clockwiserotation of the dog member36.

Having thus described the controlling mechanism I shall now explain theoperation of the complete burner and valve arrangement after which Ishall 7 point out what constitutes the novel features of my invention inthe appended claim.

Starting from the position of parts as shown by broken lines in Fig.3,'where the valve ports are related as in Fig. 5 and where the mainmantle burner is lighted and adapted for continuous operation, when itbe desired to extinguish the light, control chain 65 is pulleddownwardly, which moves the parts to' the position indicated in Fig. 2,where the valve ports are related as shown in Fig. 6. Here it will beseen that the small port 19 in the valve plug now registers with thecorresponding port 20 leading to the auxiliary burner which then ignitesfrom the heat of the mantle burner as heretofore described, the supplyof gas to which latter burner has been substantially unaltered by themovement of the valve plug. The flame of the auxiliary burner now playsagainst the terminal 57 of the heatermember 56 as shown in Fig. 2, whichlatter member conducts heat from said flame to the thermostat. Thethermostat, upon being heated, straightens or bends generally outwardly,assuming the broken line position indicated in Fig. 2 after a certaintime interval, whereupon the spur 52 releases the dog member 36, and thelatter is immediately impelled by the spring 38 to the position shown inFig. 3, where the relation of the valve ports is as shown in Fig. 7, andall gas supply to both the auxiliary heater burner and to the mainmantle burner'has been cut-off. The pilot flame 29 however remainsburning and when gas is again supplied to the main mantle burner,ignites the latter.

The valve may be opened again at will for supplying gas to the mainburner, by pulling downwardly on chain 68. This re stores the valve plugto the position shown in Fig. 5 as before explained. It should be notedthat in this position, no gas is supplied to the auxiliary burner 21 andthat the main mantle burner is adapted to re main in operation for anindefinite period of time.

said source of ignition; and a shield for the flame of said burnerformed and positioned only partially to surround the space between theburner mouth and said member, so that the rise of said gas to its sourceof ignition may be insured substantially in the presence of free air.

Signed in Boston, Massachusetts, this 5th day of August, 1916.

RAYMOND D. SMITH. Witnesses E. L. MCFADDEN, JAMEs D. GORDON.

